Rodgers brothers back together on and off the football field

Watch James Rodgers on the fly sweep, legs pumping like pistons, as he hits the corner then races past defenders down the sidelines.

Watch Jacquizz Rodgers on a draw play, darting one way then another in a blink, turning tackling attempts into armfuls of air.

After taking the field as high school teammates in Texas, the Rodgers brothers are together again on the football field.

James was first to arrive at Oregon State and made the fly sweep famous last year as a freshman with several big runs on the play, including the Civil War-winning touchdown.

Now Jacquizz joins his brother in Corvallis.

James is at slot receiver and Jacquizz is currently the backup running back to Ryan McCants. They’re both young and in the midst of learning their positions at the Division I level, but it hasn’t taken long for flashes of brilliance to shine through.

Their teammates have noticed.

“Every time you see (Jacquizz), he’s breaking tackles,” OSU offensive tackle Andy Levitre said. “He’s quick, he reminds me a lot of (Yvenson Bernard), but he’s got a little more breakaway speed. He’s got really good change of direction, he can stop on a dime. He’s a really special player and I think we’re kind of lucky to have him on our team.”

They’re not big. Both are listed at 5-foot-7. They have plenty of speed and quickness and their height allows them to hide among the linemen before breaking through a hole.

Defensive end Slade Norris knows what it’s like on the other side of the line when Jacquizz or James gets the ball.

He said it’s tough to keep track of Jacquizz when he puts on a burst of speed. The best way to defend the Rodgers brothers? Pin them against the sideline and hope for the best.

“With that draw play it’s amazing how fast he gets out of the offense. We go up field and turn around and he’s already 20 yards down the field,” Norris said. “With James on the edge, you watch film from last year and he stiff-arms guys twice his size and puts them to the ground. They’re great at what they do and I’m just happy we have them.”

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The Rodgers brothers grew up in Richmond, Texas, a suburb of Houston where trouble could be found if it was sought out.

There were gangs, drugs and crime. There were also sports and activities.

James and Jacquizz stayed close together, spending their free time riding bikes or going swimming and getting into sports at a young age.

Football and basketball were their top choices.

“We’ve been playing sports for a while,” Jacquizz said. “(James) was an influence in just helping me work hard and we pushed each other to get each other better.”

A different path would have been easy to take.

Their father took the wrong one and wound up in jail on drug charges. He did not live with the family, but it was a dose of reality for the brothers.

“I was shocked when it happened, but things happen for a reason,” James said.

Jacquizz said he used the setback as fuel to his fire so he wouldn’t end up in a similar situation.

“It was just something you’ve got to live with it, you know,” he said. “Either you can dwell on it or you can just move on. We moved on.”

James and Jacquizz were not swayed because they had a solid home life.

Their mother, Tasha Williams, raised them as a single parent. She made sure they put in the work at school and stayed out of trouble.

They were taught to respect people and are still quick to reply with a “Yes, sir.”

“My mom, she was real important,” James said. “She was taking care of four kids. She’s a very strong woman. She kept us in line, too.”

Rodney Williams, the brothers’ uncle, stepped in to help whenever he could. Williams became an attorney after graduating from college and the brothers looked at him as a mentor.

He helped them with school and showed them the value of an education.

Another uncle was Michael Lewis, now a defensive back for the San Francisco 49ers.

He gave James and Jacquizz a football role model to follow and worked with them to become good players.

It wasn’t long before the brothers both made varsity at Lamar Consolidated High.

They had Lewis’ groundwork to build on and they drove each other.

“We were working out when other people weren’t working,” Jacquizz said. “Just doing the extra things, double workouts. A lot of drills, all types of drills.”

James was entrenched at receiver and safety. He was a three-year letterman and was first-team all-state in 2005 and 2006.

Jacquizz came in at running back and had an immediate impact.

“We just had that chemistry, being brothers,” James said. “When we got to high school it just felt good.”

They played together until last year. Jacquizz already had piled up big numbers, but he said there were a few doubters when the duo broke up.

While James had 50 carries for 586 yards and three scores and caught 19 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown in his first year at OSU, Jacquizz was getting a spotlight of his own.

“People were saying I wasn’t going to do anything without my brother, so I took it upon myself to work harder and make something happen,” he said.

Jacquizz wound up rushing for 2,902 yards and 43 touchdowns. He earned the nickname “Mr. Touchdown” by breaking the state record with 136 career TDs.

He finished his career with 8,245 yards, sixth on the record list.

All those big numbers, yet no interest from University of Texas. Or any other big in-state school except Baylor. For whatever reason, he had slipped through the cracks until later in the season.

Boston College made a late run, but Jacquizz was headed to OSU.

“They’ve always been at the top of my list because they stuck with me from the beginning to the end,” he said. “They didn’t try to jump on late after I had a big year.”

Now he’s here. With his brother.